Fun and Games: Popular Children's Books

Heidi

Heidi has been one of the most popular children’s books since it was first published in 1881. This book by Johanna Spyri tells the story of a Swiss girl living with her grandfather.

This Heidi doll, wearing a traditional corseted dress with puffed sleeves and apron, was created to commemorate the addition of the wonderful Heidi related collection of Gustine Courson Weaver into Special Collections. Weaver was an avid collector of a wide range of children’s literature and dolls, but especially adored Heidi.

Find Heidi in the catalog.

Photograph of the cover of Heidi. The cover is brown with two black boxes in a T shape. The top box has a black line print of a mountain range with solid black pine tree in the foreground. The lower box had the title and author information in gold, with two leafy vines underneath with flowers at the top.

Photograph of a porcelain doll with long curled dark hair with bangs, and a woven straw hat with a bunch of pink flowers on one side. The doll wears a dress with white sleeve and collar, a dark blue corset, a red skirt and a white apron with flowers printed along the bottom edge.

A printed image of a girl sleeping with her head coming out of heavy blankets. She had short black hair, and is surrounded by a circle of story book characters, like Humpty Dumpty, a rabbit, Alice from Wonderland, the Pied Piper. Above her is a small unrolled scroll with Heidi on it, and below is another larger scroll with a handwritten note.

A black and white line drawing on yellowed paper, with a black border. There is a mountain range in the left background, with a girl and boy sitting on a rock in the right foreground, looking and pointing at goats standing to the left foreground.

Cover of a publication with a black and white photo of a young Shirley Temple smiling, wearing a dress with a corset tied in the front, with short white sleeves and a white apron.

A long sheet of paper with a fold down the middle, featuring two color illustrations on either side. On the left side is an illustration of an old man sitting outside of a house with mountains in the background. He hold the hand of a young blonde girl who faces him. On the right side is an illustration with the book title and author/illustrator information below in black text. The illustration shows an young boy and woman climbing up a hill with two goats, and mountains in the background.

Little Lord Fauntleroy

Little Lord Fauntleroy was originally published as a novel in 1886, by Frances Hodgson Burnett. The book tells the story of an impoverished boy in New York who suddenly becomes a Lord in England. This type of “rags to riches” story was, and remains popular in America.

The major influence of this book was in the realm of fashion. The illustrations of Little Lord Fauntleroy in his velvet suit with lace collar and pants ending at the knee, made the outfit a popular style for young boys beginning around the time of the book’s publication and into the 1910s.

Find Little Lord Fauntleroy in the catalog.

Photograph of the cover of the book Little Lord Fauntleroy, with the title in white text at the top, and author name at bottom. A rectangular illustration is at the center showing a young boy with long blond hair riding a small brown horse, and an older man to the right wearing a top hat and suit, riding a larger gray horse, on a path. The illustration is surrounded by a section of yellow, where the text sits, and the yellow is surrounded by blue.

Photograph of an open book with the left page being text and the right page having an illustration. The illustration shows and old man in a tuxedo holding a cane walking through a large room with marble floors. The man is being pulled by the hand by a young boy with long blond hair, wearing a black velvet suit with red belt. A brown dog stands to the left looking back at them.

Photograph of a small boy doll with a whie porcelain head. His eyes are painted black and his lips are painted red. He wears a black velvet had with a feather, and a black velvet suit with pants that end at the knee. The shirt under his jacket has frilly lace that goes up the front of the shirt and around the collar. The lace along the front is coming off, and buttons hang from his shirt front. He wears small black shoes with silver color buckles.

Little Red Riding Hood

Little Red Riding Hood is popular old fable originating from Europe. This pop-up book shows the scene where Red Riding Hood is about to be eaten by the Big Bad Wolf. Many variations of the book have been created, with early versions having a more graphic ending, while more modern retellings generally depict less violence.

Find Little Red Riding Hood in the catalog.